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Posted: 2/10/2009 4:10:17 PM EDT
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My bolt is stuck and cannot be pulled back. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix myself?
It is a stock Busmaster A4 .223 carbine. This is the first time after over 500 rounds, 90% Wolf ammo that I have been using for a year. I don't know if there is a round in there or not. When I opened her up the hammer was down on the firing pin. Attached is a picture of the position of the bolt, if that helps. Thanks for any input. http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/ARstuck.JPG Paul |
Beat me to it 
Keep your barrel pointed away from you.... Put your hammer back and the selector back on "safe" and reassemble the rifle Holding onto the charging handle, rap the end of the buttstock against the ground. **The momentum of tapping the buttstock against the ground should provide enough force to get the charging handle to pull the bolt/bolt carrier to the rear** If the bolt doesn't come loose, try holding onto the charging handle & tapping the buttstock again (harder). It will work |
| This has happened to me also. I will try what ya'll suggested and see if it works. I am a bit nervous because I know that mine has a live round in it. Also don't know if his is the same but my bolt and charge handle are stuck forward. Think i will call manufacturer before I try beating it on the ground, but if it comes down to it I will try it. IS this common my gun is brand new with less than 100 rounds through it? |
| I wouldn't assume wolf caused the problems. I'd examine the facts and evidence and make a conclusion. Many people shoot a lot more Wolf than that without difficulty. There are some ppl who have trouble with "a" single cartridge and never have another. With anything from Barnaul to Hornady Custom. |
| Wolf has those lacquer shells that gum up the interior of the rifle, I would assume the lacquer has made a mess inside and the soot and grime caused the problem. Wolf sucks, the only time I ever used it was when I was first into guns, had 3 duds that fell apart in the gun and one squib that luckily I saw before I blew up my gun. |
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The "lacquer" coating isn't lacquer. If it was, it WOULD melt and cause problems in the chamber. Right now, not over time. The lacquer in the chamber myth is a persistent one.
Uncrimped rounds or bad primers are a whole 'nother animal. Still wouldn't be causing the OP's problem. Unless he's got a primer popped out and stuck up in behind the bolt or something. |
| i had the same problem with my first build, i asked a friend of mine who was a gunnery sergeant and is well qualified with these weapons and he said this was do to shitty ammo and a dirty weapon!! to remedy this problem on the spot you must place the butt of the weapon on the ground and with the muzzle pointing in a safe direction, take the heel of your boot and strike the charging handle (on the release side) very hard! and it will release the stuck bolt. take the weapon home and clean the shit out of the chamber and locking lugs and lube properly.this has never hurt any thing on any of my weapons but...TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK! hope this helps, let us know. |
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Quoted:
i had the same problem with my first build, i asked a friend of mine who was a gunnery sergeant and is well qualified with these weapons and he said this was do to shitty ammo and a dirty weapon!! to remedy this problem on the spot you must place the butt of the weapon on the ground and with the muzzle pointing in a safe direction, take the heel of your boot and strike the charging handle (on the release side) very hard! and it will release the stuck bolt. take the weapon home and clean the shit out of the chamber and locking lugs and lube properly.this has never hurt any thing on any of my weapons but...TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK! hope this helps, let us know. Geussing that the guy was an old timer, since the methoud that he stated is used to clear a M-14, not a M-16. With the M-16 (AR rifles) you pull down on the charging handle will giving the butt stock a good blow off the ground. |
Well I finally got mine unstuck. Thanks for all the input. For all of you guys that care I wanted to let you know how I got it unstuck. I tried MOST of all your suggestions. I finally got the charge handle unstuck by putting the gun in a vice and then pulling on one side of the charge handle with my hand and tapping the other side with a rubber mallet. Again, thanks to all you guys that gave me suggestions, DEFINITELY LEARNED MY LESSON!!
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OK, no longer stuck, thanks for all the tips.
BUT NOW, the round is stuck in the barrel, any ideas on getting it out? I can see that the primer has been struck, so I don't know if it was a dud round or if it has fired. I really don't want to take it to a gunsmith, becuase if this happens when I depend on it, I won't have time for sure. Thanks in advance again for all the great advice. -Paul |
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Bolt locked back, insert a steel one piece cleaning rod down the barrel and check the depth that you can install it. If the round has been fired, then the rod should insert all the way down against the inside web of the spent case (read pull the rod and compare how far it when down the barrel outside the bore).
If this is the case with the round fired and just stuck in the chamber, then insert the rod down the muzzle/against the web of the spent case base, and give the cleaning handle a good whack to clear the spent case from the chamber. Note: Don't bother with a sectional cleaning rod, it just bend/breaks and forces you to go by a single piece one anyway. |
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Done, cleared, thanks for the tiips.
I found through the measuring with the rod that it was a spent round. I did not have a siingle piece rod, so used a double piece after pouring a bunch of gun oil down the barrel and leltting it sit and smacked it really good and out popple the casing. Thanks ALL for the input and lesson learned on keeping it lubed. -Paul |
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Some AR's have no problems with steel case ammo and some AR's do have extraction problems with steel case ammo. Now that the chamber is empty, I recommend cleaning the chamber with a chamber cleaning brush, followed up by wiping out the chamber with a snug fitting patch and then try shooting brass case ammo in it to see how it functions with that.
I have a Colt AR that runs fine with steel case ammo (Colt factory barrel). My M16 has failures to extract the fired steel cases, so I simply don't use steel case ammo in it (Model 1 upper gov't profile, chrome lined barrel). That is the approach I chose to follow (besides thoroughly cleaning the chamber). Trying one of those "Defender" rings around the extractor spring didn't eliminate the problem, but helped some. |
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So guess what. I took my DPMS AR-15 out for the first time to break in the barrel. First shot....mmmmmm. Cleaned it. Second shot went well but then the bolt was stuck forward. Damn it! For the life of me I couldn't get it open. Then...it just popped open and the BCG fell on the ground (I managed to pull the upper and lower apart). Looking at the bolt, I couldn't see any reason why it would jam. Then I pulled it apart a little further and bingo. One of the rings on the bolt itself had rolled slightly. A few choice words were let loose. Can you imagine shooting only two shots for the first time ever and the damn thing breaks?! I could've snapped the thing over my leg.
Anyway, so if anyone is familiar with this issue let me know something. Is it toasted? Is DPMS good on their guarantees? This should be a warranty issue, right? Let me know. |
| sounds to me like maybe he shot a 5.56x 45 through a .223 differant pressures from what i was told when it hapened to me locked my bolt up every time i shot it to test the theory i shot a 5.56x45 and had the gun jam then without cleaning it put in a .223 and shot fine put in 5.56 jammmed .223 fine you get the point now feel free to bash me i am ready |
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